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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Bellavana @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30-10:00pm. Free. A Late Shows event.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Thursday, January 15, 2015

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) directed by Tommy Smith proudly presents The Jazz Genius of Billy Strayhorn

(Jazz in Scotland - Press release.)
2015 marks the twentieth birthday of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and the stars are already in alignment for a very special year of celebrations, beginning with our February concerts and the marvellous music of the remarkable Billy Strayhorn.
Strayhorn was born in 1915 and his name is synonymous with Duke Ellington’s finest work. The hugely prolific Strayhorn composed and arranged literally hundreds of pieces for Duke and wrote many of Ellington’s greatest hits, often un-credited for his efforts.
In the 1990’s, jazz historian Walter van de Leur uncovered dozens of previously unknown compositions by Strayhorn. These captivating pieces sparkle with Billy Strayhorn’s musical ingenuity and his obvious penchant for a brightly gregarious melody. Now those lost Strayhorn tunes are in their rightful place as a restored chapter in the jazz repertoire.
In 2003, the SNJO directed by Van de Leur, brought Strayhorn’s colourful melodies
brilliantly to life. Critics at the time concurred: “Strayhorn’s adventurous harmonies… and musical textures were beautifully rendered”, said The Scotsman, while The Herald
pronounced that these shows were, “further endorsement of the orchestra's adaptability and readiness for, it seems, any challenge.” Now, the SNJO offers a more rounded portrait of Billy Strayhorn in concerts laced with Ellington era hits and sensitive Strayhorn originals.
Join the SNJO and Take the A Train down to Chelsea Bridge, where Billy Strayhorn’s
humanity and optimism are further revealed in numbers like Remember and Jo.
Strayhorn’s “Midas touch” can also be heard on Ellington’s controversial jazz treatments of the classics in Edvard Grieg’s Anitra’s Dance and Morning Mood from Peer Gynt. However, Orson and Theme from Anatomy of a Murder are strong evidence of Strayhorn’s pre-existing and barely suppressed classical ambitions. The SNJO also revisits Rhapsody in Blue, this time in an elegant arrangement by Strayhorn that condenses Gershwin’s jazz masterpiece into four minutes and forty-seven seconds of shimmering jazz gold.
The Jazz Genius of Billy Strayhorn is the story of warm, wonderful music created to spread happiness. In the hands of the SNJO it’s a sound that makes you feel a bit more optimistic about the world, and a reminder that it would have been a poorer place without the influential contribution and timeless music of Billy Strayhorn.
Friday 20th February 2015 at 19:30 Queens Hall Edinburgh, Scotland 0131 668 2019
Saturday 21st February 2015 at 19:30 Buccleuch Centre Langholm, Scotland 01387 381 196
Sunday 22nd February 2015 at 19:30 Royal Conservatoire Glasgow, Scotland 0141 332 5057

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